


Present Tense

by SayaMoonshadow



Category: Bionicle - All Media Types
Genre: Being a Toa should really come with full healthcare benefits including a therapist, Use of a famous quote that also appeared in a Dreamworks movie, mentions of past trauma, request fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 16:37:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4486896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SayaMoonshadow/pseuds/SayaMoonshadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Nuju lives for the future, Whenua lives in the past, and Dume isn't up for listening to another argument.  Old request fic for a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Present Tense

**Author's Note:**

> A request oneshot-thing I wrote for a friend on ff.net back in…like, 2009, 2010-ish? Can’t remember. She asked for a fic about Nuju and Whenua with prompts of “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present” and “Maybe someone could use that quote to calm the two Toa down during one of their past vs. future arguments.”

Of all things, Nuju finds he hates reflecting on the past.

So many mistakes have been made, so many…why should he want to look back on every little thing he had done wrong in his life? Why should he hurt himself with every little _“what if”_ that goes through his head on a daily basis?

_What if he had hung on tighter before being sucked into that vortex in the Colosseum, what if he had realized what the “heart of Metru Nui” was, what if he had kept Vakama from betraying them, what if—_

_What if he had never accepted the Toa stone in the first place?_

He hates his past mistakes, which is why he looks to the future, he thinks dismally. One more mistake has been made, one more mistake he has to bury and put behind him—

“I’m sorry,” he tells the crying Matoran in front of him. Just one more mistake to remember…

The best friend of the Matoran he wishes he could comfort is crushed under the weight of the Knowledge Tower—the very one he spends most of his time in. Surely he should have noticed something was wrong with it…

But he is no engineer nor architect. He is merely a stargazer and a Toa, and this is just one more time that he is not able to save somebody.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In contrast, Whenua hates the thought of the future.

The future scares him. As with Nuju, there are many _“what if’s”_ , but they are different.

_What if he messes up again, what if he cannot protect his friends from a repeat of the incident with the Krahka, what if defeating Roodaka is not enough, what if something happens to him and his people are left defenseless—_

_What if his next mistake is the one that brings everything down around him?_

It is a fear by now, one that haunts him, the thought of _what tomorrow will bring_. No one can know what the future holds, and it is that very uncertainty that claws at him day in and day out. He prefers a schedule, one that will always fulfill itself the way it is _supposed_ to. No surprises.

Perfection becomes a ritual for him. Everything has to go as planned. He lives predominantly in his favorite memories, never thinking forward too much if he can help it.

It is better to look to the past and learn from one’s mistakes. Those who do not learn from the past...

_(For a split second, he is back in that cold cell beneath the Colosseum, wishing he knew a way out and fearing what the false Turaga Dume and the Vahki are going to do to him and Nuju and Onewa, and the fear clogs his throat.)_

...are doomed to repeat it.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It is better to look to the future. The future is bright. There is always hope.”

“No, there isn’t. It’s better to look back, to learn from your mistakes. That way, you can prevent accidents.”

Nuju frowns. “You can’t control _everything_ , Whenua. There are just some things that we cannot help.”

Turaga Dume looks back and forth between the two, knowing another argument is about to take place. He sighs. Will they ever learn? He has no time for this right now; they _have_ to get this done _today_. What part of “today” did they not understand? Did they think he had asked them to his office merely to bicker?

His gaze lingers on the walls of his office, on the masks that were made to represent each of his fallen friends. So many of them, so, so many…so many fallen heroes. It pains him to know that they are all dead and gone, and that his own weakness was a catalyst in the death of Lhikan Mangai.

The past is painful to look at, too many mistakes have been made. Perhaps if he had recognized the corruption in Makuta Teridax and sent for help in time, things would have turned out differently. Perhaps if he hadn’t fallen prey to the Makuta’s stasis spell.

But then again…a smile crosses his face every time he remembers Lhikan and the Toa Mangai, brave, proud, happy heroes that honestly made him swell with pride to be the one that they looked up to. He has so many good memories with them, and with his own team, now all dead…

What would have happened if they had not died?

The future is indeed frightening, he thinks. Who knew, perhaps one of the other towers in Ko-Metru would fall and crush everyone beneath it. Or perhaps there would be a tidal wave that even Nokama cannot stop. Perhaps yet another one of those who he holds dear will succumb to death and leave him alone again.

But there is always hope in the future. Perhaps tomorrow will bring sunlight back to their cloudy skies.

A perfect mixture, then—learning from the past, but also accepting that what will happen is impossible to know.

And so he speaks, interrupting the argument with a smile on his face. “You know…” he says, “yesterday is history.”

Nuju smirks, but before the Ice Toa can speak, Dume has continued. “And tomorrow is a mystery.”

This time, it is Whenua who is smug, but he is also interrupted. “But today is a gift.”

They both blink at him, uncomprehending. The Turaga smiles at them. If they don’t get it now, then they will someday. “That’s why it’s called the ‘present’,” he finishes, and then hands both of them a stack of paperwork to get started on.

Ah, blessed, reflective silence.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**END.**


End file.
